Test Tuesday: Rubber Cement

In this Test Tuesday we are testing rubber cement. I am using Elmer’s Craft Bond Rubber Cement. One of the benefits of rubber cement is that it easily, and cleanly rubs off of surfaces once dry.

Those watch with our Readi to Craft series should be familiar with the use of rubber cement to hold templates in place. This is achieved by applying a layer of rubber cement to one side of the intended bond area and allowing it to dry almost completely before pressing together. This method allows the template to be pulled away easily and cleanly later in the crafting process.

In this experiment we are attempting to achieve a more permanent bond. Per the container’s directions I applied a layer of cement to both surfaces to be bonded and pressed them together while the product was still wet. I allowed the samples to set for three and a half hours.

The standard Readi-Board samples behaved similar to each other. The bond was not strong and I could easily pull the two halves apart from one another. The Adams Premium samples had a stronger bond. As you can see on the black sample, the board did bend slightly when I tried to pull the samples apart. The red and blue Adams Premium samples had a slightly weaker bond in comparison to the black and white samples, but still superior to the standard Readi-Board pieces.

The No Paper, Readi-Erase, Readi Water Resistant and Readi-Grid sample all produced a poor bond with the rubber cement.